


In Which Methos Mangles Ma'el's Writings

by jmtorres



Category: Earth: Final Conflict, Highlander: The Series
Genre: Aliens, Backstory, Bisexuality, Crossover, Other, Transgender, alien gender identity, alien sexuality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2003-10-17
Updated: 2005-06-19
Packaged: 2017-10-09 09:16:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jmtorres/pseuds/jmtorres
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How to amuse and freak out an Immortal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Da'an, Boone noted with amusement, was sitting on the grass. His knees were bent, halfway to his chest, his feet spread on the hillside below him, in apparent mimicry of the human man seated next to him. However, where the human comfortably slouched forward, resting his elbows on his knees, Da'an was serenely ramrod straight, as if in meditation, his long hands folded elegantly on his abbreviated lap.

"Da'an," said Boone, by way of greeting. He put his hands on his hips, pushing his jacket back: it made his sleeves hitch at the elbow just enough to show his skrill at the wrist in a subtle warning to the stranger. "Who's your friend?" he asked lightly.

"Dr. Adam Pierson," Da'an replied. To Pierson, he added, "And this is my protector, William Boone."

The cadence of Da'an's speech placed a pause after "Doctor," as if he'd forgotten the man's name momentarily, or as if he was stressing Pierson's position. Boone wasn't quite sure there was any significance to it at all, aside from that Taelons took their time with words, but he nonetheless asked, "Doctor? Of medicine?" as he leaned forward to offer his hand to Pierson.

"Archaeology," Pierson corrected laconically, unfolding his arm to return the handshake. His glance flicked down to Boone's skrill briefly, but this seemed more a polite acknowledgement of Boone's display than any actual apprehension at the implicit threat. The handshake was firm and dry, and he released Boone's hand after only a moment. "That's my site the other two of you've decided Ma'el's buried in." His accent, Boone realized, wasn't native to the region--it sounded more Welsh.

Boone smiled sourly at being lumped in with Sandoval and Beckett. "My apologies," he said. "I heard how they commandeered it. I'm sure the situation could have been handled more--diplomatically."

"I really don't see why I need to be 'handled' at all," Pierson answered sharply, "seeing as I can read the runes."

"The runes," Boone repeated carefully, looking to Da'an. Da'an looked back calmly.

"Yeah, well, what they've shown of the mosaic in the papers, anyway," Pierson replied.

"The writing's Taelon," Boone said, again looking to Da'an for confirmation. Da'an gave a regal tilt of his head.

"Taelon it may or may not be," Pierson said. "All I know is it's an ancient language the Druid priests used for their most holy work. Church Latin for the Celtic set."

"And you speak it?" Boone asked disbelievingly.

"'Speak' might be a stretch," Pierson said, grinning now, "but I can translate it, anyway."

Boone's curiosity was piqued. He would have really liked to question this man in private, see if he could recruit him to the Resistance, but Da'an had found him first, so Boone would have to test him here. Boone unclipped his global from his belt and opened the screen, calling up the recording he'd made of the mosaic. "The line of writing across the top, there," he suggested, holding the global out to Pierson. "What does that say?"

Pierson accepted the global and studied the image. He cleared his throat. "'Rejoice, my--' Hm. Familial relations of equal status... ordinarily, I'd translate that 'brethren,' but it's got gender suffixes out the arse. Neuter, masculine, feminine, a half a dozen extra I can't fathom... How many of you lot does it take to put together a baby?" he asked Da'an with mild annoyance.

To Boone's surprise, Da'an answered the question seriously. "I had one parent. My child has two."

"Huh," said Pierson, his eyebrows raised.

"And how many of your kind is required to 'put together a baby'?" Da'an asked pleasantly. Boone snorted. Oh, boy, Da'an was just full of surprises today--he must like this guy.

Pierson stared at Da'an a moment, grinning as he realized he was being teased. "Couldn't honestly tell you. I never knew my parents--or parent, as the case may very well be--and I've never had any children of my own siring." He shook his head and looked back down at the global. "'Rejoice, my siblings--' That's awkward, but I suppose it'll do for the moment-- 'for I have borne--' No, that's not quite right. 'For I have created a... human son....'" He trailed off thoughtfully. "Oh, I see. They're not all gender suffixes, are they? Some of them are sexuality suffixes. Fa shi'in, fa shi'ir, fa shi'il... Attracted to the androgynous, attracted to women, attracted to men?"

"Yes," Da'an answered, sounding pleased.

"'Rejoice, my family of assorted genders and sexual proclivities,'" Pierson read, sounding amused. "Do you all announce this way?"

"It was more common in Ma'el's time," Da'an answered, "though some of us still do so."

"Oh? And how do you call yourself?" Pierson asked. He wet his lip with his tongue, and Boone could have almost sworn he was flirting with Da'an.

Boone paused to wonder whether Companion protection meant guarding his charge's chastity as well as his physical safety.

"In recent years, I have all too often been Da'an na'at," Da'an replied with the faintest hint of regret in his tone.

Boone recognized the "-at" suffix, a version of the negative, which Pierson apparently took to mean "celibate," because he said, "A lovely being like you? Surely not!"

"But of late," Da'an went on, "I have become Da'an na'ar ra'al fa sha'an fa sha'al fa sha'ar fa sha'ami'ero'ha'ash."

Neuter, male, and female, as well as attracted to everything and the kitchen sink? Boone thought incredulously. Taelons had a fondness for speaking of multiple, simultaneous, contradictory states, but how could Da'an be all genders at once? And that last bit--Boone was still trying to sort out what "ami'ero'ha'ash" was. "Ami'e" was an informal term for "human," and "ash" was a diminutive, but the rest--

"Meaty," Pierson mumbled, apparently working on the same phrase. Then: "_Oh._ Enjoying our stay on Earth, are we?"

"It is a pleasant planet," Da'an answered, smiling.

The last syllable clicked, and Boone asked incredulously, "Furry, meaty, little humans?"

"It is an affectionate descriptor," Da'an replied calmly.

"For a _pet,_ maybe," said Boone, and this for some reason sent Pierson into hysterics. He lay back against the hill, howling with laughter, and Boone couldn't pick one of them to glare at. "Furry, meaty, little humans, Da'an?"

"It is your physical presence which makes you fascinating to one such as I," Da'an informed him, momentarily dropping his 'skin' to remind Boone of the fleshless energy beneath.

"Still," said Pierson, pushing himself up, "it has something of a slang ring to it...?"

"The phrase is of recent origin," Da'an acknowledged, "though, I begin to suspect, the concept is not."

"Hm?" Pierson asked, glancing back at the screen of the global. "'For I have created a human--bisexual slut of a son--'"

"Slut?" Boone asked sardonically. Pierson was enjoying the suffixes way too much.

"It's an affectionate descriptor," Pierson answered innocently.

"I believe the phrase most literally translates, 'sworn to many,'" Da'an corrected, leaning slightly to look at the global. "Which carries a different connotation."

"My bad," Pierson answered gleefully. "'A human, bisexual, promiscuous son who shall be the--' I want to say 'keeper,' but that's not quite right. 'Guardian,' maybe. 'Who shall be the guardian of my qui--' Hm. 'My life force'?"

Da'an tilted his head in a half-nod, and Pierson continued, "'My life force, when I am dead. His name is--'" Pierson paused, his face showing fierce concentration. "Huh, that's transliterated Greek, I think. 'His name is Thought, for he is my--' Oh, that's clever. 'For he is my brainchild, born of the processes of my mind and the methodology of--' I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that 'apothecary' is a euphemism for 'experimental research,' because I can't imagine making a son out of well-crushed herbs."

Da'an had looked up from the global and was watching Pierson intently. Pierson, for his part, seemed too absorbed to notice the attention. Boone began to wonder if he should have given Pierson this passage to translate.

"'If you call him by this true name,'" Pierson continued, with notably fewer asides, as if he were rushing to be done, "'he shall return to you my life force, and I shall return to the--family.'"

"'Commonality,'" Da'an corrected.

"'Commonality,'" Pierson repeated. "Any other quibbles?"

"Only one," Da'an answered, "here." His hand drifted over the global controls, rewinding the recording. "Where a word becomes a name, it is not translated. 'His name is Metheus--'"

"Methos," Pierson interrupted.

Da'an paused. "The spelling indicates--"

"Yeah, well, transliteration's a bitch," said Pierson. His tone had lost its friendly banter--he seemed scared now, and Boone couldn't figure out why. "People are still mispronouncing 'Kirke' as 'Circe' because of how the Romans did the Odyssey."

"Methos," Da'an repeated hesitantly.

"Yes," Pierson said flatly. He snapped the global shut and handed it to Boone. "Satisfied?"

"Yeah," Boone said slowly, confused by Pierson's abrupt withdrawal. "Would you be interested in doing more work on the mosaic? And Ma'el's tomb, when we find it?"

"I find," Pierson said, standing and brushing grass off his pants, "that I am more interested in human history. Good day." With that, he stepped around Boone and made his way down the hill.

"Did I offend him in some manner?" Da'an asked, sounding regretful.

"I don't know," Boone said, just as baffled. "He seemed like he was enjoying himself, earlier. That was... weird. Do you want me to check out his background?"

"That would be most appreciated," Da'an replied.

"Anytime," Boone answered, stepping forward and offering Da'an his hand to help him up. "Only, I'm gonna be annoyed if it turns out I looked him up just so you can hit on him, huh?"

Da'an straightened slowly, still holding Boone's hand. Gazing at Boone with wide eyes, he said, "I cannot imagine what you mean."


	2. Chapter 2

Boone did an official query on Adam Pierson because Da'an was interested, which turned up a forwarding service as the listed address, and a phone number which went directly to video mail. He was a professor of archaeology on sabbatical for a dig in Ireland, where his mail was presumably being forwarded. His birth certificate said he was born in Wales in 1972, which meant--Boone checked back against the university records, momentarily doubting the calculation--he'd been attending the Sorbonne when he was fifteen. Okay. So he was smart. It also meant he looked younger than he was. The birthdate pinged wrong no matter which way he looked at it.

Boone forwarded this information to Augur, requesting an investigation through unofficial channels, with a note that Pierson's knowledge of ancient Taelon as written by Ma'el would make him a good recruit.

About two minutes later, he received a call from the Protector to European Companion, Ka'al. The Protector had an olive complexion and dark hair. He identified himself as Duncan MacLeod.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Boone asked pleasantly.

"You're investigating Adam Pierson," said MacLeod. "Leave him alone. He's under my jurisdiction."

And he cut the connection.

Boone sat at his desk, gazing at the blinking termination sign for a few moments. If Pierson had made his ability to read the runes known to anyone else, there probably would be other Taelons interested in him. But claiming jurisdiction? Unless Pierson had already fled Northern Ireland, he should still be under the jurisdiction of the UK Companion.

But why Ka'al? As far as Boone knew, Ka'al had been an artist before being pressed into political service. He was what the human media had dubbed a biodesigner, since all his artwork breathed. He'd been involved in the aesthetic aspects of the embassies' architecture. Ma'el had been a scientist. What would Ka'al want with a man who could read Ma'el's writings? Ka'al hadn't even crossed the channel to join them, instead letting Da'an cross the Atlantic ocean.

Boone strolled into Da'an's receiving chambers, still pondering. "Da'an, I have a question for you."

Da'an looked at him curiously. "What," Da'an said, "is your question?"

"Why would Ka'al be interested in Dr. Pierson?"

Da'an went blue, his skin not vanishing altogether, but becoming translucent for a moment. His hand shaped a curve in the air. "I do not know," he admitted.

Boone nodded and turned to leave, about to hand the problem over to Augur. Da'an stopped him, asking, "What have you learned, with regards to Dr. Pierson?"

Boone shrugged. "He's very smart and he's unreachable. I'm still looking."

"And Ka'al?" Da'an asked.

"Ka'al's Protector asked me to stop looking," said Boone.

Da'an seemed to frown at that, though it was a very serene frown. "Be discreet. There is no need to antagonize Ka'al."

"Of course," said Boone.

**Author's Note:**

> Also archived on dreamwidth: <http://jmtorres.dreamwidth.org/346457.html>


End file.
